Three times a year, some students in RM classes seem a little sleepier than usual. Their heads fall uncontrollably into their hands, and then down onto their desks. Incredibly enough, most teachers refrain from saying anything.
It’s Tech Week for the Black Maskers, and this year, they are rehearsing Noises Off by Michael Frayn, set to open on April 15th at 7:00 pm in RM’s auditorium. The week before the opening night of every show, the cast and crew stay in rehearsal for over six hours a day, going home after ten each night. “We don’t really have any time for homework or anything,” junior Jennifer Flores, who plays Brooke, said, trying to explain why Tech Week has often been jokingly dubbed “Hell Week.”
The long hours are mainly for the crew to get the technical aspects of the show to run smoothly. “It’s about making sure the set is perfect, and running crew knows where everything needs to be, and we just take it from the top, straight through,” senior Riva Redding, a member of the crew, explained.
From the back of the auditorium, which will soon be filled with people, the show already seems to be almost perfect to the casual observer. However, to Mrs. Davis, the seasoned director of the Black Maskers, even the slightest mistakes are noticed and written down. The sets include a huge, detailed front of a building, complete with columns and windows, and the cast is dressed in full costume, performing as if a live audience sat before them.
Backstage, however, the scene is completely different. “It’s hectic,” sophomore Shiri Kalai said without hesitation. The crew must have every cast member and prop completely ready to be put on stage, requiring hours of practice and perfect coordination.
Despite the difficulty of each production — only two adults are involved in the whole process–the members genuinely love what they do. Most of the upperclassmen started in freshman or sophomore year, and never looked back.
“It’s called Hell Week really because we’re melodramatic,” junior Oscar Saywell, who plays Lloyd Dallas, said sardonically. “We come back each year because we’re addicted to it, and even though we complain, each year we sign up again.”
“I love it. I love the people, and the sense of community,” senior Mary Hopkins, crew chief, said, suggesting that the long hours are not truly that miserable. Since the show Noises Off centers around a cast and crew that are dysfunctional and completely unprepared, the enthusiasm that the Black Maskers have for their production provides a sharp contrast. Perhaps that is the key to their success.
